Waveguides are well-known circuit components that enable a signal to propagate with minimal loss of energy. The most common are conductive metal tubes that carry high frequency radio waves, such as microwaves. However, the miniaturization of electronic components presents unique problems in implementing waveguides on a very dense circuit card assembly (CCA). The high component density and high level of integration leave very little available board area to integrate traditional waveguides or patch launches, which results in the use of dielectrically loaded waveguides to reduce size.
In order to reduce size, a high dielectrically loaded waveguide may be used with several steps to transition to free space. Using a high dielectric constant value allows the waveguide size to be miniaturized, but also makes the waveguide highly sensitive to physical gaps in the stack up due to the impedance transition from the CCA to the waveguide. Due to the high number of contact points and large surface area, the relative flatness (or lack of flatness) of the CCA becomes a cause for concern in assuring good waveguide-to-CCA contact across the entire surface. Therefore, there is a need for improved methods of implementing a waveguide on a circuit card assembly (CCA).